Contents

Biography

Early life

SPOILER WARNING: Plot details follow. Caution is advised.

Magnus was born to a half-Dutch and half-Indonesian woman and the Prince of HellAsmodeus in the 16th century in Jakarta, Indonesia, back then known as Batavia of the Dutch East Indies. He was born seemingly normal, only with unusual amber eyes.

Magnus was raised on a farm with his mother and her husband, both of whom raised him lovingly. However, when Magnus' warlock's mark developed and they realized that he was the son of a demon, they both feared him and Magnus despised himself, and his mother soon hung herself in their barn. When he was ten, his stepfather attempted to drown him but was instead burned when Magnus lashed out with his powers at him.[5] He was then brought up by churchmen and raised by the Silent Brothers of Madrid, Spain in the 17th century.[6] He received the name "Magnus Bane" from them. It was in Spain where Magnus later met and saved Catarina Loss from being burned as a witch, who would later became his lifelong, fellow immortal friend.[7]

Somehow, Magnus has acquainted himself with his father, Asmodeus. Aware of his father's influence, Magnus occasionally brought up his power and notoriety and used this in his favor. Being a very skilled and powerful warlock, Magnus began charging for his services fairly young, even before he was a full-grown warlock. Though he was only less than twenty years old, he had already began lying about his age, claiming to be hundreds of years old, old enough to know historic figures such as Julius Caesar and certain oracles, to increase his clients' confidence in him.[7]

At one point, Magnus fell in love with someone and had, for the first time in his long life, stayed with his lover for the duration of the girl's mundane life. Even for thirty years after that, Magnus still has not moved on from the pain, though it had become tolerable, and was still on an extended vacation, seeking adventure in places like Peru, unable to settle somewhere with the thought of his late lover still stinging.[7] Magnus once cited this heartbreak about a century after to another warlock friend who had lost her first loved one, saying that the first one was always the hardest.[8]

Adventures

In 1791, Magnus was able to coerce his friend Ragnor Fell into going to Peru with him. They toured the city of Lima and eventually went to Arequipa, one of Magnus' favorite cities in Peru. There, a woman named Guiliana guided them through the rain forest, where Magnus was chased by a dominant male spider monkey, which he narrowly escaped.

Around that time, he was hired by Edmund García, a rich Peruvian merchant, to help him move his cargo of guano. Infuriated at the discovery that guano was in fact bird droppings, and that they accidentally fell into the cargo hold, Ragnor ended up throwing a magical fit onboard that would then sink the ship and the cargo, rendering them both foul and unpaid.[7]

In June the same year, during the time of the French Revolution, Magnus was enjoying himself in Paris, the city that widely embraced his fashion principles. He was later literally caught in the middle of it when Count Axel von Fersen approached and asked him to help break out the royal family from Versailles. Charmed by the Count, Magnus agreed to his plans in exchange for dinner with him, and the two became friends.

On the night of the escape, after he successfully glamoured Queen Marie Antoinette, the plan hit a snag when the queen ended up lost and ran into vampires, particularly Coselle of the Paris vampire clan. She was immediately brought to the party being thrown by the leader of the clan, Marcel Saint Cloud where, coincidentally, Magnus was also at. Unable to convince the vampires to let the Queen go, he had to improvise and resort to trickery to get away with the queen. With a hot air balloon, he escaped with the queen and met with the Count. Magnus's efforts were then greatly awarded when the grateful Count kissed him before they parted ways.

Because of the incident at the party, Marcel retaliated against Magnus by having his vampires trash his place and take his servants, Claude and Marie. One of Marcel's subjugates, Henri, stayed behind to escort Magnus back to him. Magnus refused and instead had him pass on a final message calling for a truce to Marcel. To avoid any more trouble, Magnus immediately left Paris, with his new monkey, Ragnor, after. He fled to the Alps, where he would go on to avoid anything French, not wanting to worry or think about his vampire problems or the Revolution affair, to no avail. Through an escaped nobleman from Dijon, he heard the news of the eventual capture of the king and queen in the Varennes. Worried for his safety, Magnus wrote a letter to the Count, only to hear back from his sister, Sophie instead. When Sophie asked Magnus to try to dissuade Axel from risking his life, Magnus, finding mundane lives so complicated yet fleeting and knowing that the Count would be determined and impervious, chose to ignore her request and move on with his life.[9]

Stay in London

First encounters

In 1857, Magnus visited London to attend a Clave meeting with fellow Downworlders. There, he met the stubborn ShadowhunterEdmund Herondale who fell in love with a mundane, Linette Owens. Having been present on the day the pair met, Magnus bore witness to what would later lead to the heartbreaking decision that Edmund made: to leave his Shadowhunter life behind to be with his love.

At the same time, Magnus also first encountered the vampire Camille Belcourt and made a pass at her. The pair connected, and Magnus found himself competing with the werewolfRalf Scott for Camille's affections. Influenced by Edmund's heartbreak, Magnus decided to give the mortal Scott a chance at love with Camille. As a parting gift, Magnus bought Camille an enchanted, and expensive, necklace, bought for the price he got after selling his house in Grosvener Square. Magnus bid Camille farewell, and they parted with a kiss and a promise to meet again.[10]

Living with Belcourt

By 1878, Magnus had returned to London and reunited with Camille, having finished her time with the now deceased Ralf. At one point, Magnus was with Camille, Ragnor, who had then already become the High Warlock of London, and de Quincey at one of the Pandemonium Club events and was seen by an investigating Shadowhunter, Will Herondale.

In an attempt to get revenge on Alexei de Quincey, the vampire who had Ralf killed, Camille told the London Enclave about his illegal Downworld parties. To help with the infiltration, Camille had Magnus meet Tessa Gray, who had shape-shifted into Camille, and Will at de Quincey's party. He escorted them through the house and, since the group were suspecting that de Quincey was the Magister, helped them make sense of an automaton blueprint riddled with a binding spell they found in de Quincey's library. Afterwards, he took them to the ceremony to witness de Quincey breaking the Law themselves.[11]

Saving Will Herondale

Due to Camille's involvement in the death of de Quincey, she was forced to leave London to avoid the wrath of de Quincey's followers. To Magnus's disappointment, she left without telling him where she was headed. Though Magnus contemplated simply leaving her London home and subjugateArcher, which Camille left in his care, he couldn't since he still loved Camille and hoped she would return to him.

Shortly after their last encounter, Will Herondale went to Magnus and asked him to break his curse—a curse which endangered the people he loved or grew close to, supposedly cast by a demon that Will released from a Pyxis when he was a child. Intrigued by the boy's haunting sorrow, Magnus agreed.[11]

In the following months, Will continued to secretly visit Magnus as they continued to look for the blue demon that cursed him. They performed many spells and summonings in an attempt to draw the demon out, though none of the demons seemed to ever be the right one.

One evening, Magnus heard from Archer that Will was at a party thrown by Benedict Lightwood. Knowing that Benedict's parties were notorious for danger, Magnus went and ended up interrupting Will and Tessa kissing, under the influence of a warlock drug, on the balcony. He warned them that Will was easily recognized by Archer and that they should leave before anyone else recognizes them. He transports the pair to the estate grounds, where Will suddenly ran off to chase after a blue demon—the one that cursed him.

Later that night, Will came to Camille's house, wiped out, injured and messy, with the demon's tooth embedded in his arm after being bit. A frantic Will wanted Will to summon the demon for him immediately, which Magnus explained was not possible. Will then collapsed due to the poisonous bite and Magnus healed him.

A little while later, Camille unexpectedly returned and showed up at the house. As a test, Magnus asked her where she had been. Camille claimed to have come from Paris; Magnus immediately knew that it was a lie as he had previously tracked her subjugate Walker to Saint Petersburg in Russia, where Magnus's informants have told him that Camille was living with a mundane lover. Finally accepting that Camille did not love him the way he loved her, Magnus ended his relationship with Camille and, using the barely conscious Will's presence to his advantage, pretended to be in a relationship with Will and kissed him. He left with Will soon afterwards as even Camille, who was enraged that Magnus dated a Shadowhunter and dallied with him in her own house, kicked Magnus out and ended further relations with him. When Will, in confusion, asked Magnus if he had just kissed him, Magnus denied it, telling him that it must be the painkilling spells causing him to hallucinate.

Magnus later reconnected with his werewolf friend Woolsey Scott and temporarily moved in with him. Eventually, Magnus contacted Will and called him to Woolsey's home. In Ralf's room, Magnus proceeded with summoning the demon that owned the tooth Will obtained, finally the same one that cursed him—Marbas. Finally successful, Will confronted the demon, only for it to reveal that Will was in fact merely tricked into believing he was cursed—a particularly cruel trick that haunted Will for five years.

During this time, Magnus had grown to know the man Will is at his core and eventually realized the real reason he wanted to rid himself of the curse: he had fallen in love with Tessa. He became more concerned for him, even as the truth was finally revealed. Woolsey, at one point, pointed out that if Magnus truly did not feel anything for the boy, then it must be Magnus's desire to "save every fallen bird."[12]

Helping the Enclave

After the truth was revealed, Will avoided Magnus because seeing him was a painful reminder of his torment. Will did, however, write him a short letter, telling him that Tessa was engaged to Jem Carstairs but asked him to not reply. Some weeks after, Jem, whose life depended on yin fen, ran out of his own supply of the drug and had no other source, as Axel Mortmain had accumulated the rest in London, Will and Tessa went to Magnus for advice on how to possibly save Jem. While he was initially skeptical to help them, he eventually agreed to help them somehow, though even he wasn't sure in what way.

When Woolsey teased Will of his feelings for Tessa, Woolsey and Will fought and Magnus had to pull them apart. Magnus, having reclaimed the enchanted pendant that he had given Camille, later gave it to Will for precaution.

During an attack on the institute, Tessa was kidnapped by clockwork creatures, and Jem collapsed after trying to rescue her. Desperate Will summoned Magnus and told him that he didn't know what to do: stay with Jem, or leave after Tessa. Warlock asked if Jem knew about Will's feelings towards Tessa, in which he answered negatively. Magnus told Will that being there at the end of Jem's life is not what important, but it was being there for every other moment. He then said that he would stay and watch over Jem while Will would go after Tessa. Then Magnus left the room to give a chance for Will to say good-bye to Jem. To buy Will time on his rescuing mission, Magnus joined with Henry Branwell to built a device that could help defeat Mortmain. Together they created a portal in order for the Shadowhunters to get to the Cadair Idris. There Magnus first found Will and Tessa and released them. Later they joined the battle together.

After Mortmain was defeated, Magnus joined the Sophie'sAscension celebration party, during which he found Will near the institute front doors. He came to bid farewell as he was leaving London for New York.[8]

Back to Peru

Magnus and Ragnor later returned to Peru in 1885 with Catarina Loss, mainly for a job they were hired and offered a large sum for by Nayaraq to help her retrieve her family's treasure from the ruins in Pachacamac. Upon fulfilling their part, Magnus realized that it was not the treasure but the truth and reality of faeries and her family's connection to them that Nayaraq was truly in search of. Due to this assignment, however, the trio were marked wanted criminals for desecrating a temple.

Convinced by Catarina, the three remained in Peru for much longer after that last task. Five years later, in 1890, they were in the city of Puno, living by Lake Titicaca, when Magnus met Imasu Morales, a musician. Wanting to spend more time with him, Magnus asked to be taught to play an instrument. Magnus began playing the charango, rather terribly, much to the horror of those around him that not even his friends could tolerate it. Eventually, Imasu made him stop, admitting that he had their lessons showed, and may never, show improvements in his music playing, and that he agreed to teach him because he had also wanted to get to know him. With this, Magnus finally decided to give up music, causing the city to hold a festival in celebration.

Imasu had been one of the few people Magnus grew to love since the death of his previous lover. Despite this, he still found himself unable to fully open up to him, especially about his past and his true nature. Just when he began to truly consider telling him, even just about magic, and settling down with him, Imasu left him, reasoning that he felt Magnus to be ephemeral, much to Magnus's amusement and dismay. With Catarina and Ragnor's help, Magnus was able to deal with and overcome his sorrow.

Another Herondale

In 1903, Magnus had returned to London summoned by Tatiana Blackthorn with a very generous offer in exchange for his service. Assuming that it was to perform a spell for her ward, Grace Blackthorn, he agreed. While staying at a club to kill the time, Magnus saw James Herondale—a spitting image of his father, an old friend of Magnus', Will, shooting out chandeliers in the club. Magnus confronted over his use of a non-shadowhunter weapon, a gun, to which James replied that he knows who Magnus is. Magnus then delivered James home (the London Institute) after chasing him around London for the last few hours. Tessa was shown holding a light orb in her hand, to which Magnus remarked she has been practicing magic since the last time he saw her. He also noted she didn't look more than 3 or 4 years older than the last time he saw her. She then greeted him and showed her motherly instincts by cradling her sons head. Magnus then saw Will who had aged since the last time he saw him (25 years ago). Will was still as handsome as ever, with tousled black hair and bright blue eyes. He was broader, with laugh lines, which Magnus thought makes him more handsome, as he looks happy.

Move to New York

Vampire period

In 1929, Magnus was running a speakeasy, Mr. Dry's, during the Prohibition era. The mundane world was heavily influenced by the economy and financial problems. Aldous Nix, the High Warlock of Manhattan, had some hidden cards up his sleeve and planned to do some dark magic. Magnus decided to not get involved and warned the Institute. October 1929. Some time passed, all those long alcohol parties and hangovers, he finally noticed the mundane financial crisis, after saving one of his fellow drinkbodies, Alfie, from a suicide jump out of the window. Apparently, at the same time, in the Hotel Dumort, Aldous Nix opened the door to the Pandemonium. Which in turn swallowed him up and did not miss conguring up half of the hotel along with the warlock. Closing the portal took a major amount of Magnus's energy and a bit of his blood. By the time he returned back to his hotel room, he encountered Dolly. After following her, he discovered that she was sent to him at the very beginning by Camille to give him a hint about the things about to occur.[13]

In 1953, Magnus decided to try his hand at being a detective. His first client was Guadalupe Santiago, who asked him to find and save her son, Raphael.[6]

And Peru... again

It was in 1962 that Magnus returned to Peru once again; this time, alone. At Cuzco, Magnus met a girl named Kitty, a con-artist whom Magnus charmed into leaving her then target, Geoffrey, to be with him. The pair became a couple and stayed together for a summer, during which they had magical crime spree.

At one point, the High Council of Peruvian warlocks met in secret and decided to ban Magnus from Peru for "crimes unspeakable." Magnus found out through a letter sent to him, and while he inquired about why he was banned, he never did find out.[7]

Return to New York

In 1977, Magnus finally returned to New York from a trip that he intended to only run for a week but instead kept getting extended, until he was away from home for two years. Shortly after arriving, Magnus immediately realized that the city had changed for the worse. He also discovered that Camille and her vampires, while doped up on drugged humans, had begun uncontrollably feeding on and killing mundanes. Though he managed to help the New York werewolf pack solve the problem, Magnus found the disturbing circumstances of his most recent encounter with Camille too painful. He later contacted Catarina and had her perform memory spells on him to make him forget all his encounters with Camille in the twentieth century.[14]

He is first introduced as the warlock who signed the mind of Clary Fray. He had been hired by her mother, Jocelyn Fray, to erase her memories of seeing anything related to the Shadowhunter World. She initially wished to remove Clary's inner eye, which was providing her sight of Shadowhunter world, however Magnus warned that this would likely kill Clary or in the least drive her to pure insanity. Instead, he casted a spell on her that would cause her to forget anything she saw that was related to the Shadowhunter world. But this spell would fade as time passed, needing to be re-casted every two years.

Clary and the others found him at his New York apartment hosting a party in which Isabelle Lightwood received an invitation from a kelpie in Pandemonium. Magnus, assuming that he was the one who gave them the invitation, said that he "must have been drunk" because he doesn't give invitations to Shadowhunters.

At first, he said nothing about recognizing Clary, but eventually must acknowledge the fact he had known her since she was little, even commenting that he'd watched her grow up. At the party, he talked about his tragic past, and Alec Lightwood sympathized with him and tried to remove the morbid atmosphere, but Magnus brushed it off, claiming that it happened a long time ago. He openly flirted with Alec by asking him to call him and winking at him. Alec however, who had yet to 'come out of the closet', thought he was in love with Jace Wayland, his adopted brother. In bonus content from Cassandra Clare, known as "Kissed", Alec confronted his and Magnus' growing attraction to each other and asked him out. Upon learning that Alec had never kissed anyone, Magnus kissed him (resulting in the couple's first kiss with each other) before arranging for a date with him within the week.

At the end of the book, Magnus is called upon by the Lightwoods to heal Alec, who had been fatally wounded while fighting the Greater DemonAbbadon. Isabelle said that when Magnus showed up he was quite in a rushed hurry to get Alec to a private room in order to heal him.[5]

Helping the Conclave

Magnus and Alec had been secretly dating, even though Alec still thought he was in love with Jace. Alec refused to tell others about the relationship due to how homosexuality isn't approved among Shadowhunters, often resulting in them being kicked out. Magnus took Jace in to his apartment when he is injured. Warlock was upset by this and nearly told Jace of his relationship with Alec, but ended up deciding against it, knowing that Alec wasn't ready for that kind of step yet. In a chapter of the novel, Clary created a "fearless" rune, which Alec volunteered to have applied to his arm in order to test it to see if it works. In result of applying the rune, he nearly openly told his parents about his relationship with Magnus as well as his homosexuality, shocking those who are aware of it. However, before he could directly reveal who he was seeing and the importance of it, Magnus quickly used a spell to momentarily knock Alec unconscious and from revealing their relationship, knowing Alec wasn't ready for anyone to know about them yet.

The last scene with them together was on a floating truck, where just after being rescued from drowning. Alec offered Magnus what is left of his strength, who was severely exhausted from using his warlock abilities, so he could continue to use his magic to help the Shadowhunters, who were still on board a ship on the East River. Alec then gave Magnus his strength.[3]

The Mortal War

Magnus opened a portal for the Lightwoods so that they could get to Idris, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters. They were attacked by Forsaken, and Magnus was forced to rush everyone through, including Simon, who had been badly injured, even though Downworlders are not welcomed in Idris without permission. Eventually, Magnus ended up in Idris himself (pretending to being the warlock Ragnor Fell, who had been recently killed by Sebastian, though Clary obviously knew it was him).

While he was there, the city was attacked by demons controlled by Valentine, who was bent on wiping out all Downworlders and those associated with them. Magnus was fighting off a horde of Iblis demons when Alec showed up and saved his life. After this, Alec confronted Magnus about ignoring him. Magnus was angry with Alec because he still hadn't told his parents about their relationship and while he loved him, Alec assumed he was in love with Jace (this is the first time either of them confess love to each other) and wouldn't be with someone who loves him "the way [he] does." Shocked that Magnus had directly told him that he loved him, Alec made a deal with him; if they survived the battle, Alec would introduce Magnus to his whole family (including his parents) to which Magnus, while grinning in happiness, agreed.

A bit later, Alec passionately kissed Magnus (to the latter's shock) in front of a huge crowd of Downworlders and Shadowhunters, including his parents and friends, finally revealing his sexuality and relationship with Magnus. At the end of the book, Magnus was seen off to the side, speaking with Clary. Afterwards, true to his promise, Alec finally introduced Magnus to his parents. In the epilogue of this book, Magnus can be seen talking to Tessa Gray of The Infernal Devices series; she is the girl in the white dress by the tree that Clary somehow recognizes but isn't sure how.[18]

Camille's return

At the beginning of City of Fallen Angels, Magnus and Alec were touring the world, with Alec occasionally texting Jace with pictures of them together. It seemed that they were having a reasonable time, as the photographs depict Alec wearing his usual jeans, while Magnus wore themed outfits for the occasion. At one point, Jace asked Simon if he would like to see a picture of Magnus in Lederhosen, Berlin.

Their trip, however, was cut short when Camille Belcourt was being questioned, refusing to answer to anyone with the exception of Magnus, thus forcing him and Alec to return to New York.

Despite what can be assumed to be an excellent holiday, sparks begin to fly when Alec soon found out that Magnus had, indeed, dated Camille centuries before he was born. At this knowledge, Alec listened through the door while Camille and Magnus spoke, hearing her compare him to a man named Will. This further upset Alec, causing great tension between the couple.

Alec found himself finally confronting the fact about his mortality in his relationship with Magnus, and how he wants to live with Magnus forever. When he overheard Camille comment that "pretty boys" are always Magnus's undoing, he told the warlock that he felt trivial to him while also bringing up how he never did anything to be with his previous lovers forever in the past and that he felt that he's just another boyfriend in a long line to him, who would eventually die, as he goes on living. He further stated that it was especially unfair, since Magnus was anything but trivial to him. Magnus tried to comfort Alec as he was dragged off to find Camille, who had escaped, saying that Alec was not trivial to him, but Alec was still left unconvinced.

Another issue among the couple was of Magnus not sharing his past with the Shadowhunter. In one scene, it was depicted that Alec angrily asked Magnus if there was "anything that he wasn't into" and questions if he slept with a specific werewolf. Magnus inquired if Alec would ask every person he had met such questions, if he's had a relationship with them, to which Alec only answered while still clearly upset, "Maybe."

After the final battle, and everyone was reunited, Magnus found Alec and they began to speak. Alec finally confided in Magnus of his fear of eventually aging, and not being with Magnus who would go on to live forever in his youth. He was particularly distressed that they might not even have a chance, and that Magnus had already seemed to have accepted his fate as a mortal. Magnus consoled his boyfriend, telling him that he wouldn't be any more ready to lose him in the future than he was "right now", which he firmly said was "not at all." Revealing he had truly fallen in love with Alec and wanted him forever.

The final scene of Magnus and Alec was of them passionately kissing in a corner, wrapped up in each other.[19]

Team Good

Magnus was seen studying the design that was on the rooftop from which Jace had disappeared when Alec visited him. Clary and her mother, Jocelyn, decided to stay over at Magnus' apartment when Jace and Sebastian appeared at their house and soon, Alec, Simon and Isabelle were staying at the apartment too. Magnus confronted Isabelle about Alec, directly telling her that he loved Alec, telling her that he'd noticed and was worried since Alec wasn't "happy."

During their stay, Magnus assisted them in finding a weapon that would be able to sever the bond between Sebastian and Jace or hurt one without harming the other. He opened a portal to the Adamant Citadel for Isabelle, Jocelyn, Alec and himself so that the women could meet the Iron Sisters and request said weapon. Later, Magnus summoned a Greater Demon, Azazel (Lieutenant of Hell and Forger of Weapons) to ask for the weapon again. He took a memory from each person and gave them to Azazel in exchange for his idea. Magnus later also told Simon that if it weren't for Alec, he'd be long gone from the scene by then and would go into hiding until the battle and everything blew over.

Finally, when all else failed, Magnus summoned Angel Raziel at the wide, empty space near Luke's farmhouse and Simon managed to get Glorious (Archangel Michael's sword). When Team Good found out of Sebastian's intentions, Magnus created a portal to transport a large group of fighters (Shadowhunters and Werewolves) to the Seventh Sacred Site where they engaged in a war with the Dark Nephilim. Magnus got hurt while protecting Simon from Amatis, who had turned into a Dark Shadowhunter, receiving a severe wound on his chest. Alec let Magnus take his strength (like on the night of the battle on Valentine's ship in City of Ashes) to heal himself.

In the epilogue, Magnus found out about Alec's private meetings with Camille. Alec ended up finding him in an abandoned subway where he was supposed to be meeting Camille, obviously waiting for him, much to his shock. Magnus was upset that Alec would consider taking his immortality away at all and kept it a secret, not bothering to tell him about Camille's offer. Here he also revealed how he had, in fact, been considering taking away his immortality, revealing how that was part of the reason he wanted the spell book in City of Glass. He said how since he had seen everything and been everywhere in the world, all he ever wanted was to simply live the rest of his life and grow old with someone he genuinely loved and wanted and hoped for it to be with Alec. Though Alec emotionally pleaded for another chance, Magnus refused, asking him to take his things from his apartment and to leave his key to it on the table, also saying he wished to never see him or his friends and family (being tired of being their "pet warlock") ever again. The two shard one last passionate embrace and final kiss before Magnus reluctantly walked away, leaving a heartbroken and tearful Alec behind.[20]

The Dark War

It is revealed in a teaser that Alec kept calling Magnus, but kept hanging up whenever Magnus picked up. This, eventually, resulted in Jace breaking Alec's phone in order to get him to stop. It was also implied that Magnus was just as miserable over his break up with Alec when Jace went to confront Magnus. Jace bluntly pointed out that he was obviously unhappy, since his apartment was a mess and he had takeout containers everywhere, clearly gorging himself on take out food.

Later, Magnus went to the Hunter's Moon with Catarina for some drinks, where Magnus stared at Bat Velasquez while he DJ's. Catarina called him out on his spaciness, and he admitted that his mind was on other things, prompting Catarina to warn him not to do anything stupid. Magnus claimed he doesn't repeat his mistakes, but Catarina argued that he simply makes new and even worse mistakes instead. Catarina brought up Alec, and told him she hadn't seen him so hung up on anyone like he was with Alec, adding that she saw him with Alec when they left for Idris in the Portal. She toldd him that with Alec, he was actually happy, rather than miserable, like when he was with Camille. Finally, Magnus admitted that his problem was that he could feel the world changing; he cited the fact that though Shadowhunters had endured for nearly a millennia, there were still warlocks who exist who remember when there were no Nephilim, and he was afraid that the world would soon have to learn to live without them again. He continued on to say that he couldn't shake the feeling that the apocalypse was coming, and added, "Valentine Morgenstern nearly wiped out the Shadowhunters, and his son is twice as clever and six times as evil".

Catarina realized just how in love with Alec Magnus was and brought up Tessa as an example that sometimes love is worth the pain of death. She then insisted that Magnus re-take her position as Council Representative for the Children of Lilith so he could go to Idris and make amends with Alec, before handing him an invitation to a dinner held by Meliorn for the Council Representatives. The dinner itself was just a trick to actually offer the Downworlders' leaders an opportunity to unite with Sebastian in exchange for the leaders and their species lives. Luke, Joselyn, Magnus and Raphael declined the offer. As a consequence their drinks were spiked and and the leaders were imprisoned. And the were held prisoners in the other dimension by Sebastian for him to blackmail the Shadowhunters to give him Clary and Jace in return for their lives.

Even when they defeated Jonathan/Sebastian, they were still stuck in the other dimension. Desperate, Magnus agreed to call on his father, revealed to be the Prince of Hell Asmodeus and the ruler of Edom. Asmodeus agreed to help them return safely to their world, in exchange for Magnus—his immortality, and thus his life. Magnus agreed, though the process, seeing his whole life flash before his eyes, would kill him. Simon, not wanting to sacrifice Magnus but willing to sacrifice what he sees is his damned life as a vampire, volunteered to take his place. Asmodeus agreed, eager for the power of a Daylighter. To match Magnus' almost 400 years of life, Asmodeus told him that he would also take Simon's memories of the Shadow World, including Clary and the rest of them, and, in exchange, he would give Simon back his life as a mundane. Simon agreed, much to the horror of the others, and as Asmodeus took Simon's immortality and memories, he sent them back to their world, to Alicante.

Physical description

Having stopped aging when he was around 19. Magnus has brown skin, is very tall, with a long and lean body. His warlock marks are his yellow-green "cat-like eyes" with vertical pupils and his lack of a belly button. He is also noted to have a somewhat Asian appearance, due to the curve of his eyes. He has dark black hair; his hairstyles has changed over the years, ranging from short and spiked to straight and shoulder length.

He wears all kinds of make-up, such as glitter around his eyes and lipstick. He likes to flaunt his beauty by often dressing in flamboyant and glitzy ensembles, which is seen by some as strange, or unique.

Relationships

“

Alexander, I've been alive for hundreds of years. I've been with men, been with women—with faeries and warlocks and vampires, and even a djinn or two.

Love interests

Over a century later in The Mortal Instruments, he becomes romantically involved with Alec Lightwood, being the boy's first kiss and relationship. Magnus says in The Infernal Devices that black hair and blue eyes are his favorite combination, which only Alec and Will Herondale are shown to have.

The issue of his immortality versus Alec's mortality is brought up several times in City of Fallen Angels, when Camille, Magnus's ex-girlfriend/lover, says that in sixty or seventy years, Alec will eventually age and die while Magnus will continue to live on forever. This in which, causes heavy complications in the two's relationship. However, it is revealed in City of Lost Souls that Magnus had been seriously considering taking away his immortality, confessing that while he is immortal, all he has wanted was to find someone he loved to live the rest of his life and to grow old with and had hoped and wanted for it to be with Alec. In The Bane Chronicles, Magnus expresses fear of having his heart broken by Alec, quoting that though he had been through a hundred heartbreaks, he was terrified by the thought of Alec committing the act.

Alec is somewhat symbolic of things from Magnus's past: Alec has blue eyes and black hair, traits which Magnus admired from the Herondales and some other past partners, and something he has referred to as his favorite combination.[7][11][17] Alec is also a Lightwood—a family Magnus used to despise, or was at least usually indifferent towards.

Magnus met Etta around 1938 at a club, where he asked her for a dance. According to her, by the end of the song, she had fallen for him. The two began seeing each other, their relationship fairly serious, and Etta had learned what he really was—a warlock—and knew of the Shadow World. It also became a tradition for the couple to dance in his room late at night when Magnus is unable to join her and dance with her at her club.

However, particularly by 1953, Etta slowly realized that she might want a family. When asked if she would want immortality, Etta said no, and insisted that while she would want more time with him, she is unwilling to stop time for herself to do so.

Eventually, Etta did leave him. She did, however, remain a very well remembered and cherished loved one of Magnus, and was the last person Magnus truly loved for half a century, until Alec Lightwood.

Magnus met and fell in love with Imasu in 1890, when he, Catarina and Ragnor were in the city of Puno, in Peru. To develop their relationship further he engaged himself in learning how to play the musical instrument, called charango. Which he failed at. They had a rather short vacation romance. During the span of their relationship, Magnus never got around to telling Imasu about magic and his demonic origin. Magnus had even considered offering that he and Imagu live together, before Imasu broke up with him. Imasu felt that Magnus was too ephemeral. At this, Magnus laughed and told him that he was "the most permanent person" he would eve meet. They never spoke to each other again after that.

In The Infernal Devices, he is the lover of Lady Camille Belcourt. However, they break up after Magnus discovers that Camille has gone to St. Petersburg to be with a human lover.

Friends

After leaving Camille, Magnus stays with Woolsey for rest of Clockwork Prince through to the end of Clockwork Princess. Magnus and Woolsey are not so much a romantic relationship but one of circumstance and housing as well as physical satisfaction.

Abilities

Immortality: As a warlock, Magnus was granted immortality. Physically, Magnus does not age and has maintained the appearance of a 19-year-old since the 16th century.

Magic: Magnus has access to magical powers that often manifest themselves as blue flames or sparks at his fingertips. Magnus is capable of casting spells and performing summoning rituals.

Etymology

The name Magnus means 'great' in Latin and was one of the first names used among Romans. His surname, Bane, would mean 'glorious defender' in Slavic, however, the more appropriate translation of Bane is 'destruction'. If his whole name is translated, Magnus Bane would mean 'great destruction'.

Trivia

Magnus' true age is known only by a few people, like Catarina Loss and Ragnor Fell. He has lied about his age since he was young, often to impress clients and feign experience, by making himself seem older and ancient, sometimes younger, as he see fits.[7]

Magnus has owned pet cats in New York over the years, namely Great Catsby and Chairman Meow, whom Magnus throws birthday parties for, a decision Magnus made in 1953.[6]

Having moved to Spain from his hometown, Spanish was the first language he learned after his native language. Aside from Indonesian and Spanish, Magnus has also become fluent in several other mundane languages after years of traveling the world, as well as demonic languages, such as Purgatic, Gehennic, and Tartarian.

Because his father, Asmodeus, was once an angel, witchlight, which normally only lights up under a Nephilim's touch, responds to his. It responds differently, giving off a dark red glow. Between him and Alec, the witchlight's glow changed colors.[20]

He and Alec are set to get married and possibly adopt a child.[23][24][25]

While Magnus was not meant to have such a big role in the series,[26] Magnus is so far the only character to appear in every installment of the series.